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The Ocean Ecosystem

Earthjustice is restoring our ailing ocean ecosystem by using the law to establish sustainable fisheries, protect marine species and build resilience to climate change.

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OUR OCEANS ARE IN CRISIS.

Overfishing, pollution and habitat fragmentation are wearing down the health of our oceans. Add to that ocean acidification—a process caused by increased carbon emissions that can degrade coral reefs and corrode the shells of sea creatures—and warming, and it's not surprising that ocean ecosystems are rapidly collapsing.

BUILDING RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE by working with local and international stakeholders to reduce environmental stressors like pollution so that marine animals and corals reefs can withstand increasing acidification and warming.

We're Restoring Ocean Health, One Fish at a Time.

After Earthjustice spent years working alongside east coast fishermen and built a groundswell of public support, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission finally imposed, in 2012, the first-ever coast-wide cap on the catch of menhaden—one of the most important fish in the sea.

And, more than a decade of Earthjustice litigation resulted in better protections for seal lions’ primary food sources. Our landmark court victories closed Steller sea lion rookeries to industrial-scale trawling gear, marking one of the first times fishing was reduced to provide prey needed for an endangered marine species’ survival.

"Since we began working on the oceans, we've had significant wins in the courts that set precedents with respect to how the federal government manages ocean resources in a sustainable way." – Steve Roady, Sr. Staff Attorney, Oceans

Earthjustice, representing the Center for Biological Diversity and Zack Klyver (Head Naturalist for the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Company), in cooperation with the Natural Resources Defense Council and Conservation Law Foundation, will defend the designation, and help prevent any settlement with the Trump Administration that would revoke or undermine the protections provided by the monument.